He has been named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people. He has five New York Times bestsellers. But it wasn’t by accident. Malcolm Gladwell is intentionally leading the way on building influence, a topic he deconstructed for listeners in a recent LinkedIn workshop.
While many business owners could only dream of this type of reach and influence, Gladwell is an open book about how he got there and what he recommends for others. Though his books, including his latest, Revenge of the Tipping Point, are on serious topics, he’s not always serious and balances humor with deep research and innovative perspectives. For example, you’ll find him as the “Skinny Canadian” on his Instagram bio. He also examines history through a lens of what we overlooked or misunderstood in a podcast called Revisionist History.
Here are six things he shared in his workshop about building influence that can apply whether you’re in charge of a small team of three, your town, your massive corporation or just your personal life.
1. Re-think what influence means
Influence used to mean expertise. Now, influence can come from anyone, for better or worse — think a celebrity or just someone who’s relatable to you. That person is no longer necessarily an expert in the subject they’re influencing you in. So, the term “influence” itself is changing, Gladwell said.
Additionally, how we’re influenced now may not be how we’ll be influenced in the future. Social media platforms, although it doesn’t feel like it (especially as BlueSky surges in almost instant popularity), are still in their infancy. The ways we use these platforms now may not be the ways we use them in the future.
2. Don’t be quick to toss out your old ideas
What do you do with your greatest idea from last week or last year? It’s likely discarded in the back of a journal or hidden in the files of your mind or computer. But Gladwell explained that old ideas might just need recontextualization.
“What looks outdated is as often as not, simply out of context,” he said. So, before you completely abandon ideas you previously had, take some time to consider them in a new light.
A good formula for coming up with ideas is considering contradictory ones and looking for connections. Think about this when revisiting your old ideas as well.
3. If your idea turns out to be wrong, own up to it
In 2000’s The Tipping Point, Gladwell discussed the “broken windows theory,” which argues that aggressively addressing minor crimes could lead to declines in major criminal activity. While Gladwell didn’t come up with the theory himself, he did help repopularize it.
In his TEDNext talk 24 years later, Gladwell admitted that he had been wrong. The broken windows theory was applied to crime management in New York City in the ‘90s and ‘00s, inadvertently increasing the number of “stop and frisk” incidents, mostly for Black and brown young men. After “stop and frisk” ended in 2013 due to a lawsuit, crime rates in New York City still continued to decline.
“You think you [would] lose face with other people in your circle if you say you were wrong. The opposite is true—I think people actually appreciate it,” he said. “It sets an example that I think is really wonderful and kind of freeing in an organization…. That process of self-correction and reevaluation is much, much easier than most people realize.”
4. Allow your story to change
The whole point of stories is that they don’t always remain exactly the same. Don’t be so focused on your original story that you restrict it and don’t let it adapt.
Gladwell pointed to the “astonishing, sudden change in the way the American public felt about gay marriage that no one predicted would happen” as evidence of this. Once the narrative was in place, things shifted very quickly culturally, and a new story was shared.
Gladwell discussed our power as change agents when we allow the story to change. He described someone he knew who held the unofficial role of the “company storyteller”—a person everyone went to with their stories, concerns and more. He had been laid off because his formal position had become “less relevant.”
But “this guy played an informal role in the company that was extremely important…. He was this kind of glue between different social groups in the company,” Gladwell said. “Being alert to these kinds of social roles that employees play is a really important part of maintaining the power to change [the] story.”
5. Create a safe space for getting feedback
Part of creating a safe space is asking for feedback early on. Don’t wait until the last minute. Allow yourself time to collect and reflect on the feedback.
Additionally, make sure the people you ask for feedback are well-intentioned. You need to trust them and know that they have a goal of making your ideas better.
“I opened myself up to [asking for feedback]…. [it] was a difficult thing to do, but then I realized… I’ve created a very, very safe environment for getting feedback—safe in two ways,” Gladwell said. “One is, I’ve made sure I’ve done it early enough in the process that I haven’t already put a stake in the ground…. And two, you have to make sure that the people who are responding to you are well intentioned. You must trust them. They need to be aligned with the goal of making you, making your ideas better. A lot of criticism is not well intentioned.” Gladwell added that when this process works well, it’s an “enormous confidence boost.”
6. Don’t forget about the next generation
Gladwell believes social skills and flexibility will be huge in the workforce going forward. Don’t neglect to instill these traits in your children or the next generation.
He noted that in decades past, people weren’t considering the idea that they could have a second career. “Thirty years ago, if you talked to a police officer and you said you’re going to have a second career starting in your 40s as a commercial airline pilot, they would have said it’s impossible,” he said.
Flexibility is key to unlocking new opportunities. Be open to having multiple careers, not just one. And with Gladwell’s tips at hand, you just might establish and expand influence in all of them as well.
Photo courtesy of Ross Howey Photo/Shutterstock
